Arne Engels insists he’s undeterred by criticism and feels completely at home at Celtic following his £11m transfer from Bundesliga side Augsburg last summer…
The midfielder set a new transfer record for the soon-to-be four-in-a-row Scottish champions when he arrived just before the deadline. Since joining, Arne Engels has featured 46 times for Celtic, netting 10 goals and providing 12 assists.
Arne’s time in Glasgow hasn’t been without its challenges
However, his time in Glasgow hasn’t been without its challenges. At times, the Belgian has faced criticism, particularly after missing a penalty in Celtic’s vital Champions League encounter with BSC Young Boys in January.
Nevertheless, Engels has not allowed external pressure to affect his performance: “I don’t read a lot so that’s a good point that I’m not really watching those things on the internet,” he said to the Official Celtic FC Podcast.
‘I’m still a young player and it’s my first season here’
“I just know what I’m doing, I’m still a young player and it’s my first season here. I still need to work on things and also settle in. Now, I’m really settled in and I know everything now. Everything is also going really well next to the pitch so it’s now up to me to focus on my game, and do the things I need to do every day to improve also in the gym and stuff.
“But I think I coped really well with it and I wasn’t really stressing because I was believing in my own qualities.
‘I hope that I can help the team a little bit more with those things’
“That’s also a good point of me, that I’m not really thinking about the bad things every time but also knowing my qualities and abilities, that I’m capable of trying to do something and trying to get an assist or a goal.
“Yeah, I hope that I can help the team a little bit more with those things, and I’m sure I will.”
Engels on course for debut season treble
Engels will be aiming to secure a few more trophies before the season concludes. Celtic are just one point shy of clinching the Scottish Premiership title and can seal a spot in the Scottish Cup final by defeating St Johnstone in Easter Sunday’s semi-final at Hampden.
Conor Spence
Help raise funds for Celtic Youth Academy by playing the Celtic Pools Weekly Lottery and you could win up to £25,000. The lottery is £1 per week. Click on image above to join.
